Blunkett's ID card plans key to e-government?

Home Secretary David Blunkett is being called upon to incorporate his national ID card proposals into wider strategy to boost the adoption of smart cards for authenticating use of e-government services.

Concerns have been raised in a new policy framework on a 'joined-up' e-government smart card strategy issued by the e-Envoy this week that local and central government bodies will develop their own card schemes that will not be interoperable and result in people carrying a wallet full of different cards for different services.

The document said: "The rollout and development of smart card schemes across the public sector has to date been somewhat fragmented and co-ordinated, resulting in duplication. If this continues, smart cards will not fulfil their potential to impact significantly on the e-government agenda and support e-commerce."

But national ID cards have been used in other countries as a platform for adding other services onto them and the document proposes that this is taken into consideration when the Home Office examines the case for ID cards.

The document said: "The majority of smart card initiatives abroad use the 'ID card' function as the central plank on which the scheme is based. As no decision has been made on the entitlement card issue, smart card schemes in the UK may wish to look beyond ID as a core function in order to explore the potential they have to offer."

Nick Kalisperas, senior programme manager at IT industry trade body Intellect, told silicon.com the government should take full advantage of the technology and not waste it.

He said: "There is little point in using the technology if you are not going to use it effectively. We know it works. You need to integrate it and have it deliver more than just identity."

An Office of the e-Envoy spokeswoman said the onus would be on the Home Office: "The two policies are entirely different. The ID card refers to a single project by the Home Office. But any public sector smartcard scheme would be expected to conform to the policy framework."

'Multi-application' cards have been touted by the e-Envoy for some time and another possibility put forward in the framework is the piggybacking of government services onto new or existing private sector schemes.

The document said: "As more organisations roll out smart card services, the argument for multiple application cards is growing," said the document.

But issues such as who would own the card, branding, risk and cost sharing, support and data separation would all need to be addressed first.

The framework document proposes standards be adopted that will cover a variety of smart card forms – from the traditional credit card sized piece of plastic to a mobile phone SIM or a USB token. But it admits headway needs to be made with the IT manufacturers in improving ways of using these, such as embedding card readers in PCs.